2026/05/28 by Stephan Druskat, Michelle Barker, Ian Cosden +5 · 1 voice
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.20320178
openalex created_date 2026/05/25 · openalex publication_date 2026/05/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Research software and its creators have long played a critical role in the advancement of research worldwide. This role is changing in the age of “generative AI” (GenAI), but both the software and the people remain of key importance. Understanding these changes is essential in enabling Research Software Engineers (RSEs) to continue contributing the same high value to the research process and its outputs. Before GenAI, the RSE movement had learned to clearly articulate the value proposition of embedding expert software engineering in research to its stakeholders. This blog post highlights how RSEs use GenAI to increase their capacity in both software engineering and research, and visualize this evolution. While GenAI is changing - perhaps considerably - how RSEs work in practice, their value and the value of their work for research remains steady and likely to increase.